U.S. judge approves settlement with Commerzbank

The headquarters of the Commerzbank AG is pictured before the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt February 13, 2014. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement between the U.S. government and German bank Commerzbank AG to resolve sanctions and anti-money laundering violations.

Commerzbank struck a deferred prosecution deal with the Justice Department in March to settle charges that it illegally moved funds through the United States for countries like Iran and Sudan.

The bank was also accused of failing to comply with anti-money laundering laws that require banks to detect and report suspicious activities in connection with a probe into accounting scandal at the Japanese company Olympus.